723 


U 


ELEMENTS  OF  SUCCESS: 


AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED    AT    THE 


FIRST   ANNUAL  MEETING 


OF    THE 


ALUMNI    ASSOCIATION 


OF 


COLUMBIAN  COLLEGE, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C,    '        y  „r  & 
BY    R.    W.    CUSHMAN. 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED    BY   ROBERT    A.    WATERS, 

1848. 


ELEMENTS  OF  SUCCESS. 


AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED    AT    THE 


FIRST   ANNUAL  MEETING 


OF    THE 


ALUMNI    ASSOCIATION 


OF 


COLUMBIAN  COLLEGE, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Vi!,^  i'""- '"v  W  T*«5 

DEC  2  2  !332 


BY   R.    W.    CUSHMAN 


WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED    BY    ROBERT    A.    WATERS. 

1848. 


JX 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/elementsofsuccOcush 


dl23u,K 


Washington,  July  20,  1848. 
Rev.  R.  W.  Cushman. 

Dear  Sir  :  The  Alumni  Association  of  Columbian  College  unani- 
mously request,  for  publication,  a  copy  of  the  Address  delivered  by 
you  before  that  body,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  on  the  evening  of  commencement  day,  the  12th 
instant. 

The  members  will  feel  a  pride  in  being  permitted  to  present  to 
their  Alma  Mater  and  to  their  fellow  citizens  so  rich  an  offering,  as 
the  first  fruits  of  their  Association. 

Yours,  truly, 

WM.  a  FORCE, 

Corresponding  Secretary, 


Washington,  August  11,  1848. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  owe  you  an  apology  for  the  tardiness  with  which 
I  reply  to  your  request,  made  in  behalf  of  the  Alumni  Association  of 
Columbian  College.  The  simple  truth  is,  I  have  not  considered  the 
Address  worthy,  as  a  literary  article,  of  the  compliment  your  kind- 
ness has  given  it.  It  was  only  commenced,  with  the  advantage  of  a 
few  hours'  premeditation,  on  the  Wednesday  before  it  was  delivered ; 
and  it  divided  even  that  opportunity  with  the  claims  of  clerical  duty. 

The  good  of  others,  however,  and  not  his  own  literary  reputation, 
should  be  the  prevailing  consideration  with  a  christian  minister. 
I  have  concluded  therefore  to  say,  that  if  the  Committee  to  whom 
the  Association  have  referred  the  matter,  shall  judge  that  the  value 
of  the  lessons  which  the  Address  contains  may  compensate  for  its 
literary  deficiency,  it  is  at  their  service. 

Yours,  very  truly, 

R.  W.  CUSHMAN. 

Wm.  Q.  Force,  Esq., 

Cor.  Sec.  of  Association  of  Alumni  of  Columbian  College. 


8347! 8 


ADDRESS. 


<JENTLEMEN,    ALUMNI  OP  COLUMBIAN  COLLEGE  : 

The  twenty-fourth  anniversary  of  our  Alma 
Mater  has  called  us  together  from  our  different 
and  distant  homes,  to  the  first  anniversary  of  our 
literary  brotherhood.  We  come,  for  the  most 
part,  strangers  to  each  other.  More  than  a  score 
of  classes  have  passed  from  her  halls  since  some 
of  us  were  there.  Many  of  us,  therefore,  are 
known  to  each  other  scarcely  by  name.  But 
we  have  a  common  bond :  a  kind  of  intellectual 
consanguinity  connects  us  with  each  other.  The 
Institution,  whose  youngest  sons  have  this  day 
shown  how  faithful  and  skilful  has  been  her  care 
to  them,  has  nursed  us  all,  and  given  us  the  be- 
ginnings of  what  we  are. 

We  all  look  back  to  days  when  we,  like  them, 
were  conning  our  lessons  amidst  the  quiet  groves 
of  yonder  classic  hills ;  and  we  can  well  remem- 
ber with  what  emotions  we  looked  forward  to 
that  day  of  days — the  last,  the  greatest  of  college 
life,  the  most  thought  of,  the  most  coveted,  and 
yet  the  most  dreaded,  as  "big  with  fates"  and 
full  of  portents — when  we  should  receive,  as  they 


6 


have  this  day  received,  her  farewell  counsels  and 
benediction  ;  and  should  go  forth  to  seek  our 
part  to  act,  and  our  place  for  action,  in  the  busy 
world.  It  was  to  us  then  an  untried  world. 
But  it  had  been  the  object  of  our  contempla- 
tion— the  theme  of  our  study ;  and  we  thought 
we  knew  it  well,  geographically,  scientifically, 
historically,  politically,  and  religiously.  We  had 
laid  our  plans  as  to  the  part  we  should  play  in  it, 
and  had  schooled  our  powers  that  we  might 
play  it  with  success. 

Years  have  since  passed  over  us.  And  they 
have  offered  to  us  their  lessons  of  wisdom. 
They  have  taught  us  much  we  then  did  not 
know,  and  much  that  never  can  be  learned  in 
the  cloister.  The  most  efficient  of  teachers  is 
the  daughter  of  time  and  of  suffering. 

It  has  seemed  to  me,  nevertheless,  that  some- 
thing of  that  knowledge  which  we  have  to  ac- 
credit to  experience  might  be  gained  in  a  man- 
ner less  painful ;  at  a  time,  in  the  outset  of  life, 
when  it  would  be  more  valuable,  as  it  would 
have  been  more  available. 

If  we  improve  the  present  occasion  by  a  re- 
view of  some  of  the  lessons  on 

SUCCESS   IN   LIFE, 

which  we  have  gathered  either  from  our  own 
experience  or  from  our  observation  of  the  success 
or  the  mistakes  of  others  who  began  the  career 
of   life  with  us,  we  shall,  perhaps,   spend  the 


present  hour  as  agreeably  as  we  could  spend  it 
by  the  discussion  of  a  topic  less  practical.  Such 
a  survey,  though  it  may  prove  too  late  to  be 
greatly  serviceable  to  ourselves,  may  yet,  per- 
haps, render  some  service  to  our  junior  brethren 
who  have  to  day  attained  their  academic  ma- 
jority. 

Life,  socially  considered,  and  as  an  object  of 
hope  to  the  young,  is  a  complex  thing :  compri- 
sing, chiefly,  the  domestic  relations,  property, 
standing,  and  influence.  When  these  have  been 
attained,  and  possessed  through  the  common 
period  of  human  longevity,  a  man  feels  that  life 
has  had,  in  his  case,  whatever  it  can  claim  as 
properly  belonging  to  it.  And  if  these  things 
have  been  rightly  used  and  enjoyed,  it  is  parted 
with,  with  a  kind  of  satisfaction  which  belongs 
only  to  the  ideas  of  attainment,  success,  and  com- 
pletion. On  the  contrary,  when  the  natural  an- 
ticipation of  congenial  domestic  associations  has 
been  disappointed,  and  life  has  worn  on  either 
without  those  ties  and  those  springs  of  happiness 
that  belong  to  the  family  state,  or  with  them 
realized  only  as  chains  of  bondage  and  fountains 
of  bitterness ;  or  when,  through  indiscretion  or 
misdirected  endeavors,  one's  industry  and  enter- 
prise have  left  him,  each  year  of  life,  still  battling 
with  poverty  ;  or  when,  through  self  distrust,  or 
the  want  of  address  to  take,  and  the  skill  to  main- 
tain, the  position  among  men  to  which  he  is  en- 


8 

titled ;  or  when  the  consciousness  of  powers  ne- 
glected or  misapplied  comes  over  him,  as  life 
draws  to  a  close — and  I  speak  of  life  in  its  phi- 
losophical aspect  merely — I  apprehend  a  most 
painful  sense  of  futility  must  haunt  his  waning 
years,  as  if  existence  had  been  to  him  an  abortion. 
To  know  the  causes  of  failure,  and  how  to 
shun  them  ;  and  the  means  of  suceess,  and  how 
to  secure  them ;   is  the  problem  of  life. 

As  to  the  elements  of  success,  it  is  certainly 
an  advantage  to  enter  on  life  with  the  aids  of  for- 
tune and  family  distinction.  For  the  beginning 
of  the  race  they  give  a  commanding  starting  point. 
But,  then,  the  race  is  long.  And  though  they 
may  supply  a  good  momentum  in  the  outset, 
they  are  altogether  insufficient  of  themselves  to 
countervail  and  overrule  the  thousand  causes  of 
disaster  which  every  man  must  meet  in  his  pro- 
gress. And,  in  point  of  fact,  notwithstanding 
their  undeniable  advantages,  they  prove  obstacles, 
incumbrances,  or  snares,  to  young  men  who  pos- 
sess them,  as  frequently  as  they  prove  to  be  real 
aids  to  life. 

The  possession  of  a  fortune  to  begin  life  with, 
may  be  regarded  as  an  advantage,  as  spreading 
one  important  element  of  happiness  along  the 
entire  course  of  a  man's  career,  which  he  who 
is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes  can  reach, 
perhaps,  only  when  the  morning  glow  and  fresh- 
ness of  life  have  passed.     But  then,  possession 


9 


supersedes  the  necessity  of  acquisition,  and  de- 
stroys the  incentive  to  temperance,  self-control, 
invention,  exertion,  and  enterprise,  which  the 
want  of  wealth  supplies.  And  this  is  a  great 
disadvantage ;  for  these  qualities  form  the  very 
bone  and  sinew  of  a  valuable  character.  And  this 
relief  from  the  necessity  of  their  cultivation  lets 
down  the  mind  into  a  seducing  repose,  where  it 
is  likely  to  become  a  prey  to  reverie,  ennui,  and 
temptation.  It  is  a  mistake  in  young  men  who 
are  entering  on  life,  to  fix  the  eye  so  intently  on 
wealth  as  an  immediate  requisite,  as  to  render 
themselves  unhappy  by  discontent  or  envy.  Tal- 
ent and  character  are  a  better  inheritance  than 
money,  as  they  may  be  converted  into  fountains 
whose  streams  are  silver  and-  never  run  dry. 

The  advantage  of  family  distinction,  also,  like 
that  of  wealth,  is  good  for  a  beginning.  It  will 
give  a  young  man  the  vantage  ground  in  the  start 
with  his  competitors.  But,  like  that,  also,  it  may 
prove  a  snare. 

To  be  a  great  man's  son,  is  a  good  thing  up  to 
twenty-one.  But  it  has  this  disadvantage  con- 
nected with  it  afterwards,  that  his  merits  are 
doomed  to  play  their  lustres  under  his  father's 
shadow.  And  however  serene  or  brilliant  they 
may  be,  men  will  still  compare  them,  not  with 
their  own,  but  with  his ;  and  he,  too,  will  look, 
not  down  on  the  world  below  him,  but  up  to  his 
own  revered   paragon,  and   will   oftener  feel  a 


10 


sense  of  discouragement  than  of  emulation,  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  world's  invidious  compari- 
son. As  it  will  be  well  for  the  glory  of  our 
national  monument  that  Washington  is  not  the 
city  of  the  pyramids ;  so  it  is  better  for  a  young 
man  to  reach  greatness  and  stand  absolute,  than 
to  be  born  to  it,  and  be  overshadowed  by  it. 

The  things  which  are  really  essential  for  a 
successful  life  are  not  circumstances,  but  qualities; 
not  the  things  which  surround  a  man,  but  the 
things  which  are  in  him  ;  not  the  adjuncts  of  his 
position,  but  the  attributes  of  his  character. 
Among  those  deemed  most  necessary,  must  be 
enumerated,  principle,  self-control,  self-knowl- 
edge, the  knowledge  of  men,  industry,  persever- 
ance, and  self-reliance. 

The  bearing  of  these  on  the  prosperity  of  life, 
their  connexion  with  each  other,  their  relative 
importance,  their  reciprocal  influence,  it  would 
be  both  profitable  and  interesting  to  discuss  at 
large.  The  limits  of  the  occasion,  however,  and 
the  fatigues  of  the  day,  restrict  us,  on  most  of 
them,  to  a  passing  observation  merely. 

Principle. — We  speak  of  a  man  of  principle, 
in  distinction  from  a  man  of  passion,  of  impulses, 
notions,  whims,  and  temporizing  expedients. 
Principle  recognizes  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong ;  holds  that  difference  in  view  ;  and  is 
governed  by  it,  not  merely  in  the  selection  of  the 


il 


objects  to  be  aimed  at,  but  in  the  means  of  reach- 
ing them.  If  an  object  which  is  desired  can  be 
reached  only  by  bending  from  the  right,  princi- 
ple foregoes  that  object.  It  resists  impulse ;  it 
refuses  the  counsels  of  expediency  ;  it  scorns 
temporizing.  It  opens  the  book  of  law,  and 
swears  fealty  to  the  constitution  of  the  moral 
world.  It  has  its  haven  ;  and  it  marks  its  course. 
It  spreads  out  its  chart ;  fixes  its  eye  on  the  com- 
pass ;  lays  the  hand  on  the  helm,  and  points  the 
ship  to  her  pathway,  and  holds  her  there,  though 
seas  may  buffet,  and  winds  and  currents  solicit 
to  an  easier  motion,  and  promise  a  speedier  but 
a  different  home. 

Thus,  principle  becomes  the  basis  of  self-con- 
trol, and  is  essential  to  it.  A  man  without  prin- 
ciple can  never  be  his  own  master.  His  passions 
will  ever  assert  supremacy  over  him ;  and  the 
present  flitting  advantage  will  be  ever  seducing 
him  from  the  path  that  leads  to  ultimate  and  per- 
manent good. 

Self-knowledge. — We  use  this  term  as  embra- 
cing both  the  knowledge  of  what  belongs  to  one- 
self, in  common  with  other  men,  and  what  con- 
stitutes his  personality. 

On  this  point  we  will  only  say,  in  this  connex- 
ion, that  if  the  associations  of  life  have  their  har- 
monies and  their  discords,  it  is  because  there 
are  such  things  as  adaptations,  congenialities, 
and  antipathies  in  the  natures  of  men ;  and  that, 


12 


if  we  would  find  happiness,  and  exert  right  in- 
fluence in  the  associations  into  which  we  enter, 
we  should  make  our  elections  not  only  with  a 
reference  to  what  we  approach,  but  with  refer- 
ence to  what  we  are  :  and  this  can  be  done  only 
by  knowing  ourselves. 

And  if  the  pursuits  of  life  require  certain  qual- 
ities to  prosecute  them  with  success,  a  man  should 
not  enter  on  a  given  pursuit  without  knowing 
himself  to  possess  those  qualities  which  fit  him 
for  it.  And  if  he  knows  that  he  does  not  possess 
them,  in  development,  and  his  tastes  covet  what 
his  powers  seem  to  forbid,  it  is  certainly  desira- 
ble he  should  understand  enough  of  his  nature  to 
judge  whether  use  and  practice  may  give  him 
fitness  for  that  pursuit. 

Knowledge  of  men. — What  degree  of  confidence 
a  man  may  place  in  his  fellow  men,  is,  practically, 
one  of  the  most  important  questions  connected 
with  the  economy  of  life.  How  far  is  it  safe  to 
trust  appearances,  professions,  and  promises? 
To  what  extent  may  benevolence  and  justice  be 
relied  on,  to  overrule  the  promptings  of  selfishness 
in  those  with  whom  one's  happiness  and  interests 
are  implicated,  either  in  friendships  or  business? 
What  are  the  springs  of  action  that  move  the 
busy  world  ;  and  what,  really,  the  ties  that  bind 
society  together?  And  what  may  be  expected 
to  be  its  reaction  on  one's  welfare  from  the 
adoption  of  a  given  line  of  conduct  in  one's  in- 
tercourse with  it  ? 


13 

To  answer  these  questions  requires  the  knowl- 
edge of  men.  It  is,  indeed,  a  knowledge  which  is 
not  to  be  expected  of  a  man  to  any  great  extent 
in  the  outset  of  life.  And  yet,  if  he  enters  on 
his  career  with  erroneous  conceptions  on  these 
points,  he  is  almost  sure  to  place  his  confidence 
where  it  will  be  abused ;  to  find  his  aims  circum- 
vented, his  plans  defeated,  his  hopes  disappoint- 
ed, and  his  enterprises  overtaken  by  disaster. 
The  almost  universal  error  of  honorable  and  in- 
genuous youth  is,  to  think  better  of  the  world 
than  truth  will  justify. 

Instruction  may  do  something  in  preparing  a 
young  man  to  shun  the  dangers  of  a  misplaced 
confidence  in  men;  and  maxims  which  have 
been  stamped  with  the  approval  of  ages,  would 
he  but  heed  them,  might  serve  him  as  lights  of 
a  safer  pathway.  But  the  wrecks  of  fortunes  and 
of  happiness  which  line  the  shores  of  all  time 
attest  their  insufficiency.  For  some  evils,  alas, 
suffering  seems  the  only  corrective:  and  from 
those  of  a  misplaced  confidence  in  men,  expe- 
rience proves,  after  all  instruction  that  can  be 
given,  the  only  successful  schoolmaster.  Yet,  as 
we  are  linked  with  society,  and  our  prosperity 
necessarily  placed  within  the  power  of  other  men^ 
the  knowledge  of  men  should  certainly  be  among 
the  first  lessons  to  be  taught  and  learned  ;  and 
all  should  be  done  that  can  be  done,  in  the  way 
of  gathering  from  the  experience  of  others  the 


)4 

wisdom  which  else  must  be  taken  from  the  smart 
of  our  own. 

The  necessity  of  Industry  to  success,  is  almost 
too  obvious  even  for  a  passing  observation.  It  is 
God's  prerogative  alone  to  have  by  wishing. 
The  constitution  which  He  has  given  to  things 
has  made  acquisition,  for  man,  the  issue  only  of 
effort.  A  w7orm  in  his  needs,  yet  a  god  in  his 
powers,  and  placed  amid  the  elements  of  the 
things  suited  to  his  being  rather  than  their  struc- 
tures, what  he  wants  he  is  required  to  create. 
vAnd  though  science  and  art  have  increased  his 
facilities,  civilization  has  multiplied  his  wants ; 
till  activity  is  even  more  necessary  to  satisfaction 
in  the  civilized  than  the  savage  state.  And  then, 
what  he  has  labored  to  create,  the  constitution 
of  things  withdraws  from  his  possession  ;  and 
the  work  that  has  once  met  a  given  wrant,  has  to 
be  done  over  again.  The  great  law  of  decom- 
position— in  some  of  its  operations  vulgarly 
called  consumption,  in  others  poetically  named 
"the  tooth  of  time" — imposes  the  necessity  of 
repetition.  The  labor  which  is  necessary  to 
bring  us  into  a  condition  of  comfort,  is  necessary 
to  keep  us  there.  Things  being  thus  by  the 
constitution  which  God  has  given  them,  a  young 
man  should  never  calculate  on  prosperity  with- 
out industry  ;  especially  amid  the  rivalries,  the 
competitions,  and  struggles  that  will  surround 
him,  whatever  path  he  enters. 


15 

And  Perseverance,  too,  is  a  necessary  element 
of  success.  No  great  good  thing  which  life  holds 
out  to  the  ambition  of  man  is  so  conditioned  that 
inception  and  achievement  are  within  reach  of 
each  other.  Wisdom,  skill,  honors,  fortune, 
power,  all  lie  far  onward  from  their  beginnings. 
Even  friendships  and  domestic  joys  submit  to  the 
universal  law  :  they  are  no  such  fruits  of  spon- 
taneous and  extempore  growth  as  to  be  plucked 
for  the  mere  planting. 

But  I  pass  to  the  last  named  quality,  on  which 
it  was  my  design  mainly  to  dwell : 

Self- Reliance. — And  I  attach  the  more  impor- 
tance to  this,  as  an  element  of  success,  because 
it  is  a  quality  which  it  would  almost  seem  as  if 
mankind  had  conspired  to  proscribe. 

We  mean  by  this  term,  not  a  conceited  self- 
sufficiency,  which  is  more  usually  seen  associated 
with  ignorance  and  incapacity  than  with  intelli- 
gence and  a  good  understanding ;  but  we  mean 
that  confidence  in  one's  own  powers  which  may 
rightfully  be  indulged  from  a  just  appreciation  of 
them.  Of  this,  certainly,  there  ought  to  be  no 
censure.  And  yet  how  often  do  we  hear  the 
sorrowful  exclamation,  half  in  pity  and  half  in  re- 
proach, "why  didn't  he  ask  my  advice !"  Now, 
it  may  be  admitted  that,  in  those  cases  in  which 
misfortune  results  to  a  man  from  his  following 
his  own  judgment,  it  would  have  been  better  to 


16 


have  followed  other  people's.  But  I  do  not 
know  how  this  can  be  known  in  advance  ;  and  if 
it  cannot  be,  the  question  is  a  very  simple  one> 
whether  the  Creator  meant  that  men  should  or 
should  not  act  by  the  aid  of  their  own  powers  ? 
Has  he  given  to  some  men  eyes  for  others  to  see 
by  ?  Or  does  He  expect  that  all  men,  at  least  all 
to  whom  He  has  given  eyes,  should  use  their 
own?  Where  has  He  laid  the  responsibility  of 
action  ?  On  the  actor,  or  on  his  neighbor  ? 

It  is,  indeed,  a  man's  duty  to  gather  the  ma- 
terials of  judgment  wherever  he  can  find  them ; 
to  seek  the  information  he  needs,  from  any  source 
and  from  every  source,  from  the  highest  and  from 
the  humblest  that  may  yield  it.  And  it  behooves 
him,  as  he  values  success  in  his  undertakings, 
to  see  well  to  it,  that  his  information  be  reliable, 
and  that  he  has  all  the  elements  which  are  ne- 
cessary in  making  up  a  judgment  on  the  course 
to  be  pursued.  But  beyond  this,  the  judgment, 
the  decision,  as  the  responsibility,  must  be  his 
own. 

It  is  a  remark  which  has  often  been  made^ 
that  those  who  are  thrown  on  the  world  without 
fortune,  and  without  the  benefit  of  parental  coun- 
sel and  guardianship,  have,  frequently,  the  great- 
est success  in  life.  Bating  the  numerous  instan- 
ces of  wreck  by  temptation,  this  remark  is  true. 
The  eminence  to  which  they  reach  they  could 
never  have  attained,  if  they  had  not  been  made 


17 

to  feel  while  young,  and  made  to  feel  most  inly, 
that  they  must  stand  on  their  own  feet,  if  they 
would  stand  at  all ;  and  that  if  they  would  rise, 
they  must  employ  their  own  powers.  Self-reli- 
ance has  thus  been  early  forced  upon  them  by 
their  circumstances. 

Young  men  who  have  the  benefit  of  a  worthy 
parental  supervision  are  not  early  called  on  to 
cultivate  this  characteristic.  D uring  their  minor- 
ity, it  is  hardly  expected  in  them.  It  is  not  the 
age  for  self-direction,  but  for  submission  and 
docility.  But  every  virtue  has  its  neighbor 
vice,  and  every  good  its  besetting  evil :  and  this 
very  influence  of  parental  counsel  and  control 
may  readily  prove  an  injury  in  one  of  its  bearings, 
if  not  guarded  against,  while  it  is  an  inestimable 
blessing  in  many  others.  The  reliance  on  others, 
which  is,  in  fact,  a  necessary  condition  of  the 
first  part  of  existence,  may  grow  into  a  habit ; 
wThich,  after  a  young  man  has  begun  life  for  him- 
self, he  may  find  it  very  difficult  to  overcome. 
And  his  danger  is  the  greater,  the  more  excel- 
lent the  counsel,  the  more  efficacious  and  health- 
ful the  control :  because  the  more  full  the  suc- 
cor, the  less  felt  the  need  of  self-exertion. 

It  is  very  natural,  moreover,  for  a  young  man, 
whose  domestic  relations  have  been  fortunate,  to 
go  out  into  the  world  with  a  better  opinion  of 
mankind  than  truth  will  sanction.  It  is  true  he 
will  not  get  far  on  in  it  before  he  will  find  that 


18 


the  generality  of  men  are  neither  as  wise,  nor  as 
honest,  nor  as  benevolent,  as  they  might  be. 
But  he  is  in  danger  of  making  the  mistake  of 
looking  on  men,  after  his  arrival  at  manhood,  too 
much  as  he  was  accustomed  to  look  on  his  pa- 
rents in  his  minority — of  regarding  them  with  a 
reverence  to  which,  from  him  as  a  man  among 
men,  they  are  not  entitled ;  and  of  accrediting 
them,  in  the  matters  of  knowledge,  wisdom,  ca- 
pacity, with  advantages  they  do  not  possess. 
The  natural  effect  of  all  is,  to  lead  him  to  indulge 
an  unwarrantable  distrust  of  his  own  abilities; 
and  to  place  his  welfare  too  much  within  the 
control  of  others. 

For  these  reasons,  we  would  place  a  young 
man  who  is  entering  into  life,  on  his  guard  against 
depending  on  the  advice  and  judgment  of  others. 
If  he  is  conscious  of  wanting  the  knowledge  re- 
quisite for  action,  let  his  first  business  be  to  set 
about  getting  it.  Let  him  enter  on  no  pursuit 
or  enterprise  till  he  has  first  properly  prepared 
himself  for  it.  Before  he  decides  to  enter  a  given 
relation,  or  assume  a  given  responsibility,  let  him 
understand  himself — let  him  consider  his  own 
fitness  and  powers.  If  he  is  conscious  of  being 
destitute  of  the  qualities  which  are  requisite  for 
it ;  why,  then  he  should  let  it  alone,  and  turn  to 
something  else  better  suited  to  his  idiosyncrasy. 
In  God's  well  ordered  providence  there  must  be 
a  place  for  every  thing  ;  and  every  thing  should 


19 


be  in  its  place — talent  and  mind)  as  well  as  mat- 
ter. 

But  when  a  man  knows  himself  to  possess  the 
requisite  qualifications  for  a  given  undertaking 
and  knows  enough  of  the  means  by  which  the 
end  is  to  be  secured,  and  enough  of  the  causes 
that  may  work  defeat,  to  justify  a  judgment  of 
the  probability  of  success;  let  him  form  that 
judgment  himself,  and  rely  on  it,  and  calmly  act 
on  it.  It  is — it  must  be,  as  a  general  fact,  bet- 
ter than  the  judgment  of  other  men  can  be  who 
have  had  less  interest  in  gathering,  weighing,  and 
comparing  the  elements  that  belong  to  the  sub- 
ject. 

It  will  often  happen,  however,  in  every  man's 
history,  that  he  will  find  himself  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  acting,  even  in  matters  of  the  greatest 
moment,  without  that  confidence  in  the  favora- 
ble issue  of  an  undertaking  which  is  most  desira- 
ble. The  causes  on  which  success  or  failure 
shall  depend,  are  either  so  numerous,  so  hidden, 
or  so  implicated,  that  one  cannot  be  assured  of 
knowing  them  all  and  understanding  their  influ- 
ence. And  yet  he  is  called  to  act.  In  such  case 
a  habit  of  self-reliance,  becomes  a  most  important 
element  of  success.  It  renders  every  power  and 
faculty  which  he  possesses  for  ensuring  success, 
available  to  the  greatest  possible  extent.  Confi- 
dence in  one's  own  powers,  in  an  emergency,  is 
strength  ;  while  distrust  is  a  paralysis,  the  sure 


20 

precursor  and  the  very  cause  of  defeat.  The 
seaman  who  relies  on  the  grasping  power  of  his 
own  rough  hand  to  hold  him  to  the  tossing  sky- 
sail  has  descended  to  the  deck  in  safety,  while 
he  who  doubted  and  trembled  in  his  dizzy 
height,  fainted  and  fell. 

These  then,  are  the  qualities  which,  as  we 
have  observed  the  influences  that  shape  the  for- 
tunes of  men,  have  seemed  to  us  essential  to  suc- 
cess in  life :  right  principle ;  self-control ;  self- 
knowledge  ;  the  knowledge  of  men  ;  industry  ; 
perseverance ;  and  self-reliance. 

We  would  not  say  that  they  are  the  only 
qualities  which  enter  into  a  thorough  competen- 
cy for  every  pursuit  and  situation.  Nor  would 
we  say  that  instances  may  not  be  pointed  to,  of 
successful  life,  in  which  some  one  of  them  may 
be  wanting.  A  man  may  become  rich,  for  ex- 
ample, without  industry,  by  a  providence,  an  ac- 
cident, or  a  blunder.  And  there  are  cases  of 
fortune,  influence,  and  fame,  which  seem  to  speak 
the  all  sufficiency  of  some  one  particular  quality ; 
from  which  a  successful  career  seems  to  have 
sprung,  like  a  tree,  with  all  its  branches,  foliage, 
and  fruit,  from  a  single  germ.  Thus,  in  the  med- 
ical profession,  fortune  and  fame,  from  tender- 
ness ;  in  the  ministry,  popularity,  though  with- 
out fortune,  from  affability  ;  in  authorship,  from 
wit:  in  politics,  from  cunning;    in  diplomacy, 


21 

from  address ;  in  editorship,  from  tact ;  in  friend- 
ship, from  forbearance ;  in  social  position,  from 
manners ;  in  domestic  life,  from  self-control ; 
in  war,  from  coolness ;  in  courtship,  from  courage. 

All  this,  however,  after  all,  is  but  selection. 
The  fortunate  agency  of  a  particular  trait  has  given 
it  prominence,  and  an  importance  in  the  public 
eye,  which  belongs  not  to  itself  alone,  but  as  it 
is  connected  with  other  and  more  fundamental 
qualities.  The  medical  practitioner  would  never 
have  succeeded,  as  he  has  done,  without  some- 
thing more  important  to  commend  him  to  popu- 
lar favor  than  the  gentleness  and  sympathy,  val- 
uable though  they  are,  with  which  he  approaches 
the  bed-side  of  suffering.  Other  qualifications 
must  have  conspired  to  advance  the  military 
chieftain  to  renown,  besides  the  distinguished 
one  of  firmness  before  an  enemy's  fire.  And  so 
of  the  rest. 

The  popular  mind  is  fond  of  unity,  and  is  inapt 
at  analysis.  And  when  it  has  named  one  con- 
spicuous element  in  a  complex  sum  of  causes  it 
is  satisfied,  as  having  accounted  for  the  effect. 
The  effect  of  them  aUy  nevertheless,  it  can  feel, 
and  accord  the  meed  of  favor  and  of  fame. 

But,  if  instances  of  success,  without  the  pos- 
session of  all  the  qualities  we  have  commended 
may  be  cited,  they  are  fortunately  too  few  to  en- 
courage hope  without  merit ;  while  the  wrecks 
of  hope  and  of  promise  that  lie  within  the  view 


22 

of  every  man,  if  he  will  but  survey  them,  attest 
the  force  and  value  of  those  qualities. 

One,  whose  career  we  have  marked,  has  al- 
ways been  poor,  though  always  a  man  of  untir- 
ing industry.  The  source  of  his  misfortunes  has 
been  the  want  of  a  knowledge  of  men.  With 
the  highest  tone  of  principle  himself,  he  could 
never  realize  the  extent  to  which  it  is  wanting  in 
the  world.  Another,  though  reared  in  affluence, 
and  starting  with  a  good  patrimony,  has  iallen 
into  the  same  condition,  by  relying  on  his  inheri- 
tence  instead  of  his  exertions.  Another,  who 
might  have  been  a  treasure  to  society,  and  a  gem 
on  the  nation's  brow,  has  drowned  his  memory 
in  the  wine  cup,  and  lingered  on  through  life,  a 
spiritless  mope,  with  happiness  blasted  and  hope 
extinguished,  by  an  unsuitable  domestic  alliance  ; 
originated  as,  alas,  too  many  are  originated, 
without  self-knowledge,  or  knowledge  of  the  ob- 
ject selected — determined  on  and  pledged  at  a 
period  too  early  for  a  sound  judgment,  and  ad- 
hered to  and  consummated  at  a  riper  age,  against 
the  remonstrance  of  the  heart ;  and,  melancholy 
to  say,  for  the  apostacy  it  confesses,  in  the 
spirit  of  self-immolation  to  principle.  A  fourth, 
whose  talent  and  industry  were  all  that  could  be 
asked,  as  guaranty  of  wealth  and  honor,  sunk  to 
the  doom  of  the  culprit  through  want  of  principle. 
A  fifth,  who  seemed  to  have  been  born  for  occu- 
pying a  commanding  position,  has  remained  in 


23 

comparative  obscurity  from  want  of  self-controU 
His  passions  have  obstructed  every  path  that  for- 
tune has  prepared  for  him;  and  dashed  every 
cup  of  happiness  that  Providence  and  love  and 
friendship  have  mingled. 

In  the  choice  of  pursuit,  also,  on  which  so  much 
depends  as  to  influence.,  fortune,  and  happiness, 
the  instances  of  mistake  are  not  few.  One  is 
pining  in  a  profession  which  he  loathes,  and  in 
which,  for  that  reason,  he  can  never  excel ;  and 
which  he  selected,  not  from  a  love  and  a  taste 
for  it,  but  from  an  idea  of  its  honor.  And 
another,  who  had  happily  chosen  the  very 
pursuit  for  which,  of  all  that  could  be  named, 
both  his  talents  and  his  tastes  best  fitted  him, 
has  left  it,  and  sacrificed  every  thing — prospect, 
influence,  and  happiness,  to  a  love  of  change  ; 
a  mistake  in  which  one  hardly  knows  which  to 
say  was  most  conspicuous,  a  want  of  persever- 
ance, or  a  want  of  self-knowledge. 

In  what  we  have  said  we  hope  we  shall  not  be 
understood  ascountenancing  the  disposition  which 
is  sometimes  seen  in  young  men  to  mark  out  for 
themselves  a  course  of  action  while  in  a  state  of 
minority  and  even  of  boyhood  ;  and  to  enter  up- 
on it  in  disregard  of  parental  counsel  and  defi- 
ence  of  parental  authority.  Such  a  disposition 
betokens  the  absence  of  right  principles,  right 
affections,  self-knowledge,  and  self-control ;  and 


24 


is  not  to  be  called  self-reliance,  but  self-will. 
And  where  it  is  manifest,  it  is  to  be  regarded 
rather  as  the  omen  of  a  life  of  ignominy  and 
disaster,  than  as  a  prognostic  of  honorable  suc- 
cess. The  self-reliance  which  we  would  describe, 
and  exhort  a  young  man  to  cherish,  can  be  in- 
dulged only  when  it  has  a  proper  basis  to  rest 
on  :  the  basis  of  a  disciplined  mind,  a  regulated 
heart,  and  common  sense. 

Thus,  as  we  have  looked  back  on  the  history 
of  some  we  knew  in  early  days,  but  who  have 
passed  away,  and  around  on  others  who  are  still 
walking  life's  journey  with  us,  we  gather  exam- 
ples which  proclaim  this  truth :  That  he  who 
would  he  happy,  and  prosperous,  and  honored, 
and  useful  in  the  public,  social,  and  domestic  re- 
lations and  responsibilities  oj  life,  must  know  how 
to  act  his  part ;  to  employ  his  powers  ;  to  select 
and  fill  his  station  ;  to  improve  his  occasions  ;  to 
avoid  his  dangers  :  and  must  set  himself  about  it, 
and  keep  himself  at  it,  under  the  guidance  of 
principle  and  the  approval  of  virtue. 


ALUMNI    ASSOCIATION 

OF 

COLUMBIAN  COLLEGE,  D.  C. 


The  first  organized  meeting  of  the  Alumni  of  the  Columbian 
College  was  held  in  the  Baptist  Church  on  Tenth  street,  in  Wash- 
ington, on  the  evening  of  commencement  day,  July  14,  1847. 

Dr.  T.  B.  J.  Frye,  being  the  eldest  alumnus  present,  convened 
the  meeting,  and  stated  its  object  in  the  following  remarks : 

Gentlemen  Alumni  of  Columbian  College :  It  devolves  upon  me, 
as  the  eldest  of  you  present,  to  state  the  objects  for  which  this  meet- 
ing was  called.  I  regret  that  it  has  not  fallen  into  abler  hands  ;  yet, 
though  fully  sensible  of  my  inadequacy  to  the  task,  I  will  undertake 
it,  relying  upon  your  kindness  to  overlook  the  imperfect  manner  in 
which  I  may  perform  the  duty. 

The  chief  object  for  which  we  have  assembled  is  a  high  and  holy 
one.  It  is  to  gather  around  the  domestic  hearth  of  our  Alma  Mater 
those  of  her  children  who  remain  near  it,  and  also  such  of  those 
whom  circumstances  may  permit  occasionally  to  revisit  those  col- 
lege scenes,  which  ever  linger  upon  the  memory  as  the  happiest  of 
our  lives.  We  hope  by  means  of  this  Association  to  keep  alive  in 
all  their  brightness  the  friendships  and  intimacies  which  bound  their 
golden  links  about  our  hearts  during  our  sojourn  in  the  walls  of 
Alma  Mater,  and  at  the  same  time  to  afford  us  opportunities  of  ma- 
king the  acquaintance  of  those  who  preceded  us  in  the  ascent  of  the 
hill  of  learning,  and  of  those  who  since  have  walked  in  academic 
groves  and  deeply  drank  of  the  Pierian  spring. 

Such  reunions  as  this  Association  contemplates  are  calculated  to 
produce  the  best  possible  results  in  softening  the  asperities  of  char- 
acter which  we  are  all  too  apt  to  acquire  in  the  contests  of  the  world. 

Each  commencement  day  will  be  to  us  as  is  the  good  old  thanks- 
giving day  of  our  Puritan  fathers  to  their  descendants,  when  we,  at 
the  shrine  of  our  classic  mother,  as  they  at  the  altar  of  maternal 
affection,  will  turn  from  the  turmoil  of  life,  to  pay  our  homage,  to 
interchange  the  grasp  of  friendship,  and  to  breathe  the  heartfelt  wish 
for  each  other's  future  welfare,  and,  gaining  new  strength  from  this 
healthful  exercise  of  the  mind  and  heart,  <;o  forth  better  fitted  to  per- 
form our  part  in  the  great  drama  of  life, 


26 

Another  object  of  this  Association,  and  one  of  deep  importance,  is 
to  repay  the  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  our  Alma  Mater,  by  using 
our  most  strenuous  efforts  to  aid  and  assist  her  in  becoming  what 
she  ought  to  be,  situated  as  she  is  at  the  metropolis  of  the  nation, 
and  possessing  from  that  very  cause  the  greatest  advantages — advan- 
tages which  are  increasing  with  every  year.  To  do  this,  gentlemen, 
we  must  have  action  and  concentration  of  effort.  This  banding  to- 
gether of  her  sons  is  the  best  and  surest  mode  of  obtaining  both 
these  requisites;  and  let  us  individually,  as  well  as  collectively,  do  all 
in  our  power,  with  our  tongues  and*  with  our  pens,  to  bring  about  a 
consummation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished. 

Gentlemen,  in  conclusion,  may  wisdom  and  harmony  preside  over 
your  deliberations,  and  may  this  Association,  together  with  the  col- 
lege which  gave  it  birth,  be  a  means  in  the  hands  of  the  Giver  of 
all  Good  to  diffuse  true  knowledge  and  true  religion  throughout 
the  world. 

Whereupon,  on  motion  of  H.  W.  Dodge,  Dr.  Frye  was  unan- 
imously chosen  President  of  the  meeting. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd,  H.  W.  Dodge  was  chosen 
Secretary. 

The  Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd  then  moved  that  a  committee  of  three 
be  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  draught  a  Constitution  ;  and  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  were  appointed :  Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd,  Prof.  A. 
J.  Huntington,  and  Wm.  B.  Webb,  Esq. 

The  committee  retired  for  a  few  minutes,  and,  during  their  ab- 
sence, the  meeting  was  addressed  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Walthall. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  committee  a  constitution  was  reported  ; 
and,  after  a  brief  discussion,  during  which  Messrs.  W.  L.  Childs 
and  W.  B.  Webb  addressed  the  meeting,  was  adopted. 

The  Association  then  elected  the  following  officers  for  the  current 
year : 

Hon.  W.  Collins,  President. 
•  S.  C.  Smoot,  M.  D.,  Vice  President. 
T.  B.  J.  Frye,  M.  D.,  Recording  Secretary. 
Prof.  A.  J.  Huntington,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Wm.  Gt.  Force,  Treasurer. 
E.  M.  Chapin,  M.  D.,  } 

Wm.  Q,.  Force,  >  Executive  Committee. 

William  B.  Webb,      ) 

On  motion  of  Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd,  Prof.  Huntington,  Win.  Q,. 
Force,  and  John  Pickett  were  appointed  a  committee  to  revise  the 
constitution  and  report  at  the  next  annual  meeting. 

On  motion  of  Prof.  Huntington,  a  committee  of  three  was  ap- 


27 

pointed  to  nominate  an  orator  for  the  next  annual  meeting.  They 
reported  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Cushman,  of  Boston,  who  was  unani- 
mously elected  for  the  occasion. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  W.  L.  Childs,  the  President,  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  such  other  officers  as  may  be  present,  were  empowered 
to  appoint  another  orator  in  case  the  one  elected  declined. 

The  Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd  moved  that  the  proceedings  of  this 
meeting  be  published  in  the  National  Intelligencer  and  Union. 

There  being  no  further  business,  the  Association  adjourned. 

T.  B.  J.  FRYE,  Chairman. 

H.  W.  Dodge,  Secretary. 

ALUMNI  PRESENT  AT  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ASSOCIATION. 

Rev.  Eli  Ball,  Virginia.  j  R.  S.  HaVnes,  Virginia. 

S.  C.  Smoot,  M.  Dm  Washington.  J.  R.  Bagby,  Virginia. 

Rev.  T.  S.  Walthall,   Virginia.  {  J.  Pickett,    Virginia. 

T.  B.  J.  Fkye,  M.  D.,   Washington.  I  W.  T.  Hendren,  Virginia. 

E.  M.  Chacin,  M.  D.,   Washington.  \  J.  P.  Craig,  Maine. 

Rev.  H.  W.  Dodge,  Virginia.  \  J.  R.  Nijnn,  Virginia. 

Wm.  Q.  Force,  Washington.  W.  L.  Claybrook,  Virginia. 

Rev.  T.  J.  Shepherd.    Virginia.  B.  H.  Lincoln,  Massachusetts. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Taylor,  Virginia.  j  T.  Follard,  Virginia. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Huntington,  College  Hill.  >  J.  Christian,  Virginia. 

H.  L.  Chapin,  Washington.  ;  R.  H.  Land,  Virginia. 

W.  B.  Webb,  Washington.  i  R.  French,   District  of  Columbia. 

J.  W.  H.  Lovejoy,   Washington.  A.  Bagby,  Virginia. 

W.  L.  Childs,  New  York.  \ 


FIRST  ANNUAL  MEETING. 

The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  of  the  Alumni  of 
Columbian  College  was  held  on  Wednesday,  the  1 2th  of  July,  in 
the  E  street  Baptist  Church.  The  President,  the  Hon.  Wm.  Col- 
lins,  on  taking  the  chair,  made  a  brief,  but  highly  interesting  ad- 
dress. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Secretary.  Mr.  J.  B.  Pleasants  was 
elected  pro  tempore. 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting,  reported  through. 
Mr.  John  Pickett,  the  following  Constitution,  which,  after  an 
amendment,  was  adopted. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  ALUMNI    ASSOCIATION    OF  THE    COLUMBIAN  COL- 
LEGE; D.  C. 

Art.  1.  This  Association  shall  be  styled  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion of  the  Columbian  College  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 


28 

Art.  2.  The  objects  of  this  Association  shall  be  the  cultivation 
of  friendship  and  union  among-  its  members,  the  promotion  of  the 
interests  of  their  Alma  Mater,  and  the  general  advancement  of 
literature. 

Art.  3.  This  Association  shall  consist  of  such  persons  as  have 
received  or  shall  receive,  in  course,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
from  the  Columbian  College. 

Art.  4.  All  persons  upon  whom  this  College  has  conferred  or 
shall  confer  an  honorary  degree,  shall  be  honorary  members  of  this 
Association. 

Art.  5.  There  shall  be  an  annual  meeting  of  this  Association 
on  the  evening  of  Commencement  day,  when  an  oration  shall  be 
delivered  by  an  alumnus  of  the  College,  appointed  at  the  annual 
meeting  previous ;  also,  such  other  meetings  as  may  be  deemed 
proper. 

Art.  6.  The  officers  of  the  Association  shall  be  a  President,  a 
Vice  President,  a  Corresponding  and  a  Recording  Secretary,  a 
Treasurer,  and  an  Executive  Committee  of  five,  who  shall  be 
-chosen  at  each  annual  meeting  from  Alumni  residing  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  or  its  vicinity. 

Art.  7.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  at  any  annual  meeting 
by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Amendment  to  the  5th  Article.  There  shall  be  also  appointed 
an  alternate,  and  in  the  event  of  a  failure  on  the  part  of  both,  the 
Executive  Committee  shall  have  the  power  of  appointing  one. 

Professor  Huntington,  Horace  Stringfellow,  and  W.  B. 
Webb,  were  appointed  by  the  President  to  nominate  an  orator  and 
an  alternate  for  the  next  meeting,  who,  according  to  the  5th  article 
of  the  Constitution,  shall  be  alumni  of  the  institution.  After  a 
short  consultation,  they  reported  the  Rev.  Baron  Stow,  D.  D.,  of 
Boston,  as  orator;  and  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Bul finch,  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  a3  alternate;  which  nominations  were  unanimously  ap- 
proved. 

The  Association  then  proceeded  to  elect  its  officers  : 
Hon.  Wm,  Collins  was  elected  President. 
Dr.  Frederick  May,  Vice  President. 
Wm.  Q.  Force,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
Dr.  T.  B.  J.  Frye,  Recording  Secretary. 
Wm.  B.  Webb,  Treasurer. 
John  Pickett,        ~) 
J.  W.  H.  Lovejoy,   J 

Dr.  E.  Chapin,        J»   Executive  Committee. 
J.  B.  Pleasants, 
J.  S.  Cathcart,      J 

The  Association  was  addressed  on  the  various   matters  coming 


29 

before  it,  by  Messrs.  Huntington,  Force,  Childs,  Stringfellow, 
Pleasants,  and  Pickett ;  and  after  a  most  harmonious  and  interesting 
session,  adjourned  to  meet  at  half  past  seven  o'clock. 

J.  B.  PLEASANTS,  Secretary  pro  tern. 


At  half  past  seven  the  Association  met  in  the  E  street  Baptist 
Church. 
The  annual  oration  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Cushman. 

Immediately  after  which  it  was  unanimously  voted  that  Mr. 
Cushman  be  requested  to  grant  a  copy  of  the  oration  for  publica- 
tion. 


0EQ22  1932 


Pressboard 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros.  Inc. 

Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


3  0112  111540719 


